So it’s really hard to think about what life was like in the first century AD. I think even the movies get it wrong. For example, in the movies, all the disciples are middle-aged guys when chances are they were teenagers: they lived long after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection; only Peter and Y’shua had to pay the temple tax, which meant the others were under 21 years old; a few of the disciples had been disciples of John the Baptist meaning they were of the age to be accepted as disciples coming out of school.
Also in the movies and Sunday School illustrations, we see lights in most of the windows of the houses at night. According to Bill Nordhaus, a Noble Prize-winning economist, it’s not likely that many people would have had candles or oil lamps...an animal fat candle that could burn 10 minutes would have cost a day’s wages. A household would have had to have a lot of discretionary income to afford a candle that could burn an hour. If they did, the candles and lamps weren’t lit every night and not for very long. They would have been lit for special occasions...only. Nordhaus cites that later whale fat as a source was more economic; a day’s wages could buy an hour of light (a 600% increase). The availability of kerosene (from coal) provided 5 hours of light for a day’s wages (500% increase). Today...a day’s wages can purchase 20,000 hours of electric light (more than we need...but also a reason that we have an abundance of light in the nighttime).
When the sun set, it was dark, very dark indeed. It might have been dangerous to be outdoors at night. If it’s like some places, only thieves and criminals are wandering about at night. Nicodemus took a chance to visit Christ and have the famous discussion in which Nicodemus is told he needs to be “born again”. It was probably only safe for Christ and the disciples to go to the Garden of Gethsemane because they were a crowd.
In Matthew 25, Christ tells a parable of 10 bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom to arrive—five were wise and five foolish in that they didn’t have enough oil for their lamps. I don’t know if olive oil was less expensive than other sources of light but it probably is more expensive than we think of it today. We might look at the parable as merely one of ill-preparedness when the five foolish maids run out of oil for their lamps. The wise ones had extra oil that they could use when it turned out the bridegroom was delayed, and delayed long enough that the lamps burned out and had to be refilled. The wise did not share because there was not enough to be shared with the other five.
I think the parable is also a lesson on treasure. Let’s say they had enough for the lamps to burn a few hours—that’s worth 12-18 days of work. In today’s terms, using the median income, that’s having $2500 to nearly $4000 available for the Lord’s work...and then having extra available in case the Lord’s work ‘is delayed’ and needs more monetary assistance—maybe another $2500-4000.. Since most people don’t even have $400 available for emergencies—car repair, doctor bill, house repair, etc.—this is a big stretch. This parable suggests that we sacrifice some things so that we can help others. This parable is followed by one in which a master entrusts servants to handle his wealth correctly, and another parable in which we are told that if we’ve helped the “least” we’ve actually provided assistance to the King Himself, the Bridegroom Himself.
You probably know that the Lord calls us ‘light’ to the world. If we’re burning all the time, in first century terms, that’s a costly purchase, or redemption for sure.
Do you have treasure working for the Lord and set aside for His work if He needs more?
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